Biscotti and My Mother-in-Law

When I Googled mother-in-law jokes the other day, I was stunned at the number of hits I got. Poor mother-in-laws -- they're doomed -- constantly accused of being meddlesome, manipulative, and opinionated. How many of you get along with your mother-in-laws?

I actually do. And I'm not just saying it because she's one of my most loyal readers (she is) or because she makes the world's most delicious biscotti (she does). We really get along.

It's easy to like my mother-in-law. She sends thoughtful, beautifully hand-written cards; she gives willingly without ever expecting to receive; she doesn't complain, even when she should; and she always has freshly baked goods on her kitchen counter to share, just in case someone should drop by.

Since Jeff and I have lived away for so many years these notes, phone calls, and care packages have been our life-lines to our families.

My mother-in-law's packages are precious -- with decorative stickers, ribbons, and bows, they're almost too pretty to open. But when we do, we're never disappointed.

Take our latest package for Halloween. Nestled between sheets of "trick-or-treat" tissue paper, was a bag full of chocolate-dipped biscotti (my favorite mother-in-law cookie) tied up with a wide black and white checkered ribbon. We even received hand written notes on pumpkin-shaped note paper.

She could send care packages with all of Jeff's favorites, but she would never. She always includes something I love too. How many mother-in-laws do that?

These biscotti were the perfect Halloween treat--definitely better than a Snickers bar. They're great for any time of the year, actually.

That's why I'm submitting them to Lydia of the Perfect Pantry, who five years ago created the Drop In and Decorate: Cookies for Donation program. The concept is simple: Invite friends and family to your house to decorate cookies, then donate them to a group of your choice, such as a senior center. If you'd like more information on how to host your own cookie decorating event, then click here.

Also, if you're not familiar with The Perfect Pantry, then pay Lydia a visit. Her site is a treasure trove of culinary information. With one part great recipes, two parts food history, and three parts genuine enthusiasm, Lydia teaches you about basic pantry ingredients such as brown sugar and ketchup and not-so-basic ones such as tahini and epazote. Plus, she lives in RI, my home state, so she gets a gold star.

This biscotti recipe is from Scialo Brothers Bakery in Providence, Rhode Island. Growing up in an Italian family, it's fair to say that I've eaten a lot of biscotti. These are the best. When you bite into one, the exterior is hard enough to make a crunching sound but soft enough that your teeth sink into the slightly chewy interior. And you'll never have a bite without an almond in it, which is the way it should be.

Oh, and Jeff just said, "Don't forget to them they have to dunk it in their coffee!" You simply must dunk them in hot coffee so the chocolate turns all melty and makes your coffee taste like mocha.

Mix the sugars, flour, cinnamon, baking powder, butter, and almonds in the bowl of a stand mixer, or mix by hand in a large bowl. Add the eggs with vanilla as the mixture goes around.

Take the sticky mass out and divide it into sections, rolling each into a log, flattened just a bit, on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. You should wind up with 3 1/2 logs. It's better to split them between two baking sheets because they spread out slightly while baking. Paint with egg wash.

Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven until firm, but not too hard. Begin checking after 30 minutes; it may take up to 45 minutes.

Remove from oven and let rest for several minutes until they are firm enough to slice on the diagonal. Too little resting time will cause them to break apart while slicing; too long of a resting time will make them difficult to cut without a chainsaw.

The number of biscotti will vary depending on the size of the log and how thick you make your slices. My mother-in-law cuts 1-inch wide slices, which yields approximately 30 biscotti.

Chocolate Dip, optional:The original recipe is for plain almond biscotti, but my mother-in-law made chocolate-dipped ones this time. If you'd like to dip them in chocolate, then pour a 1 pound bag of bittersweet chocolate chips (or chocolate of your choice) in a double boiler over low heat (if it's too hot, it will cook the chocolate). As soon as the chocolate begins to melt, remove it from the heat and stir with a spoon until it becomes silky. Dip the bottom of the biscotti in the chocolate, letting any excess drip back into the bowl, then place on a rack (with parchment paper or foil underneath it for easy clean-up). You may use a little less or a little more chocolate, depending on how many biscotti you slice. Allow the chocolate to harden completely before removing from rack.

This recipe is from Scialo Brothers Bakery in Providence, RI and was posted by Susan of Food Blogga www.foodblogga.blogspot.com.

A man, his wife, and his mother-in-law went on vacation to the Holy Land. While they were there, the mother-in-law passed away.

The undertaker told them, "You can have her shipped home for $5,000, or you can bury her here in the Holy Land for $150."

The man thought about it and told him he would just have her shipped home.

The undertaker asked, "Why would you spend $5,000 to ship your mother-in-law home, when it would be wonderful to be buried here and spend only $150?"

The man replied, " 2000 years ago a man died, was buried here, and then three days later he rose from the dead. I can't take that chance."

61 comments:

Wow, these look stunning, this is temptation to the extreme for me! You see, I broke my jaw 2... no almost 3 years ago. My diet got pretty much back to normal quite a long time ago of course, but crusty bread only came back on the menu earlier this year, and biscotti? well... But these look sooo good! And I'm sure it's all just psychological for me now. I think it might just be time to give them a try again with your great looking recipe :)

My MIL relationship is love/hate. Hrmph. But she does often think of me, and recently sent me a small gift so I know not to take things personally and remember that I'm married to her "baby" and it, I guess, has been hard for her to let him go!

That being said ... I love biscotti! And chocolate! What a wonderful treat - esp. with coffee, as your husband said. And that cookie-decorating group is one of the sweetest things I've ever heard of. I live across the street from a nursing home so I might have to try this with my sisters!

I love biscotti on their own, but dipped in chocolate??? That sounds absolutely divine!!I've got a pretty good mother-in-law candidate - she teaches me about jamming and canning and wild mushroom forageing, so I cannot complain:)

Those biscotti are beautiful. I could practically smell them through the screen -- practically being the key word there. Any chance your mother-in-law would like a pen pal?

Also, I'm a new reader. So let me take this chance to say how much I enjoy your writing, your photography, your stories and (of course) your recipes. Plus, as a former San Diegan who has now returned to the Upper Midwest, I just love reading about SoCal and the fresh produce that I will miss this winter.

Susan, thank you so much for helping to spread the word about Drop In & Decorate -- and for reminding me to get over to Scialo (which is now run entirely by the women in the family, so perhaps they should rename it Scialo Sisters?) for some of their wonderful biscotti.

Susan, you re lucky to have a loving spouse and loving MIL too, thats a rare combo, my firend :))) How thoughtful she is!!! and how creative too!! I loved this post, the gift bag and the biscotti, generally i make a hazelnut and cranberry one.

My mother-in-law is great, but when I was the only daughter-in-law she was even better with all the gifts just for me. :-) I love biscottis, never tried to make them though, just feel like making some after this beautiful view here.

Susan, I'd love to have a M-I-L like yours. I don't not get along with mine, but that's about it. :(

A friend used to own an espresso bar and had biscotti made for him by a local chef, and they were double baked. One batch was delivered for those of us 'in' with the espresso bar. They were still soft and chewy. I don't mind crunchy, but these were great.

Susan,,Very nice story and biscotti as well. You have wonderful Mother-in-Low! :)I made again salad similar to yours, this time I was closer to the original but I still had to replace dates with raisins and pecans with walnuts... next time I will make a list to buy all ingredients :)

Susan, I saw the title and hurried over here to read some juicy "Mil from Hell" story... :) It is so wonderful you have such a great relationship with ur mom-in-law... I have a very nuetral relationship with mine,no love or hate... :) . Biscottis look wonderful!

Thank you for this delicious recipe! I just started to make biscotti at home and this recipe is being bookmarked... Your MIL sounds like an awesome person! A loveingly packed care package is something money can't buy.

I do also get along well with my 'future' mother-in-law as you do, Susan...

She's so thoughtful, understanding, and elegant. And I can see the happiness, and love in her eyes when she looks at me or talks to me.

I think she sees my love to her son in my eyes, too :)

There is a quite age difference between me(24) and my 'future' husband(52). And so that my mother-in-law (70) is also so older than me. However all these differences make a good relation among this 'coming soon' family :))

Other point is that if you "look" positive, and try to make thing more beautiful, then everything gets better... Including relations between brides and mother-in-laws...

So it must also be a part goodness of you Susan, too, as you get along with eachother :)

I will soon try these lovely biscotti, and package to my mother-in-law :)

You sure lucked out in the M-i-L department... Mine is... OK. We don't really disagree or not get along, but warm cuddliness, baked good and sending gifts is definitely not on the menu. All would be seen as unjustifiable extravagance :o)

These look awesome - very decadent. And good thing Jeff reminded you about the dipping thing - sounds like the best part ;-)

Your mother-in-law sounds fabulous! That care package looks beautiful! And the biscotti sound out of this world... I am now obsessed with the thought of veganizing them... I need something to dunk into my coffee, darnit!

Those are lovely biscotti--a cookie I've never made before--for shame. Anna at Cookie Madness just posted some great almond biscotti too. I have a really great mother-in-law too. I can't imagine it any other way.Julie

Susan, those jokes are wicked! But the MILs in India usually only affect the women and not the men - only rarely do you hear of an MIL nagging a son-in-law and even then, I would wonder. That said, the biscotti look lovely and I'm drooling for some right now. That package with the biscotti and the little label with your names took me back to my childhood when I would get lots of little presents like that!

A great M-I-L is like a great hairstylist, to be cherished for life. I cherish my hairstylist. My M-I-L lives 1700 miles from us. WORKS for me, but I am grateful to her for the fine man who is my husband.

Susan - Great blogg!!! I love biscotti - my favorite as well. These have to go some to beat your Mom's though, but I'm willing to make the comparison. PLEASE forward your mother in law's address to me!! I'll be happy to report back to you with the results.

I really enjoyed this post for so many reasons:1. I love almond biscotti, and chocolate dipped - my my that looks delicious!2. It's great to see others out there promoting Lydia's wonderful cause - her blog is fantastic. 3. It's even better to read about the great relationship you have with your mother-in-law. My brother and his wife and daughter are moving next week and this will be the first time any of our family has moved out of Chicago. So seeing that care packages and letters like this really strengthen your relationship helps this transition for me, and hopefully my mother.

I went to school in RI, and I used to go to Federal Hill for their amazing Italian pastries. Now I live in the South and there aren't too many Italian bakeries here. Thanks for the recipe. My wife and I are going to try them.

Hi Susan. It has taken a while but I am beginning to get some free time to catch up on your fantastic stories and recipes. Yes, we are very lucky to have such a wonderful mother-in-law. Her much anticipated packages are cherished like a prize possession. Jason and I have made a deal not to eat the biscotti without one another to make sure one of us does not get more than the other. Yes, they are that good!! She also has everything wrapped so cute with her curly ribbon, decorative bags and sweet notes. She is amazing and we are truely lucky to have her as our mother-in-law.

I somehow came across this post through a Google search and was inspired to stop into the bakery since I pass it on my way to work. I just finished the last biscotti in the bag this morning, so I'll definitely have to try the recipe!

I haven't tried these yet but they look just like the biscotti I've been looking for. There was an Italian Bakery in Pompano Beach Fl that made a chewy biscotti that was the best in the world. They closed and I haven't been able to find anything the compared. I'll can't wait to try these. Thanks for the great site.

these are INCREDIBLE! i made them to fundraise for Team in Training, and I could barely stop myself from eating them first! I made some with chocolate chips, some were dipped, and I did add a little bit of almond extract...they were TO DIE FOR!